September 3, 2009

Kenya crisis: past, present and future

In the course of his day’s work last week Stephen Kituku saw hungry children with swollen stomachs, dead animals on roadsides and met families who were surviving on one meal a day.
He's the National Emergency Officer for Caritas Kenya. That was one day, it’s probably safe to say that what he sees over the next few months will be much, much worse.
Up to 10 million people in Kenya are estimated to be at risk of acute hunger. This current food crisis comes just three years after 3.5 million Kenyans went hungry after a succession of poor rains limited the country’s food production.
“It’s almost as though people forget to think about food security once a crisis is over,” says Mr Kituku. “Kenya relies heavily on rain-fed agriculture so it’s vital we implement long-term projects to ensure that there’s enough water for crops and to teach people about conserving what they harvest.”
The [...]

August 16, 2008

"People know that HIV will kill them within months, but hunger might kill them by the end of the week," said Dr John Mundi Amolo as he makes his tour of the HIV and AIDS patients admitted to Mutomo Hospital in Kenya. "If someone has only 50 bob [35 pence], then they would rather buy food than get drugs for their HIV. They have no choice."
Mutomo Hospital is in the Kitui district, which has been hit hard by years of drought. Rivers have dried up, crops destroyed, and the people worn down by hunger. Among the most affected have been those with HIV and AIDS. Although life-saving drugs are cheap and available, the small food and medical costs necessary to be able to take them are often too much.
"The anti-AIDS drugs don't work well without good nutrition," said the doctor. "People have not been eating day after day. Taking [...]